Over the next three months, France will send 10 million doses of AstraZeneca and Pfizer vaccines via the African Union (AU). A new donation of Covid-19 vaccines will take place to catch up with Africa's lag in vaccination.

The Elysée Palace has announced that 10 million AstraZeneca and Pfizer vaccines will be sent to Africa via the African Union over the next three months. Two initiatives will contribute to the distribution of these vaccines.

Under the agreement, these doses will be allocated and distributed through the African Vaccine Acquisition Fund (AVAT) and the Global Vaccine Access Facility (COVAX).

As a reminder, AVAT is also a pooled procurement mechanism that allows African Union member states to purchase vaccines to meet at least 50% of their needs. AVAT is complementary to COVAX

Fighting the virus together

According to French President Emmanuel Macron's statement, the Covid-19 pandemic can only be overcome through intense cooperation between multilateral, regional and national actors. "I want us to act together, drawing on the expertise and political legitimacy of African leaders and building on our strong partnership with the African Union," he added. 

As for the South African president, Cyril Ramaphosa, he finds that the donation from France marks human solidarity. It is therefore a strong gesture and a political cooperation at a time when the world needs it most.

Cyril Ramaphosa had denounced vaccine apartheid during a meeting on the subject with the French president. Yet he regretted that some countries have received an unlimited number of vaccines while only 2% of Africans are protected. 

 "Enough vaccines have already been purchased under the Avat initiative to enable African countries to vaccinate 400 million people by September 2022, a third of the African population, at a cost of three billion dollars," according to the Elysée.

Santie

Photo Credit : National Post

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